Many financial transactions utilize checks, credit cards, debit cards, or bank cards. As the number of such transactions has greatly increased, various systems and devices have been developed to automate the processing of these transactions, thereby increasing their efficiency and accuracy.
Checks have been standardized to include certain information along the bottom edge for proper routing and processing of the check. The characters in which this information is encoded have been standardized for automatic processing. Two widely used standards are the E13B and CMC7 character fonts. The characters must be machine printed using a magnetizable ink, that is, an ink containing magnetizable particles, on an appropriate medium.
Magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) readers are used for reading the characters printed on checks. Typically, such devices include a magnetizing head, a magnetic read head, and circuitry for recognition of the characters. In operation, the check is passed over the magnetizing head, which magnetizes the magnetic particles in the ink, and over the read head, which detects the magnetization of the magnetized particles and transmits representative signals to the recognition circuitry. Frequently, a drive mechanism is provided to drive the check through a channel in the reader past the magnetizing and read heads. In many devices, the channel extends the length of the reader. One end of the check is inserted into one end of the channel and is driven the length of the reader along the channel until the opposite end of the check exits the opposite end of the channel, where it can be retrieved by a user or other automatic processing equipment.
Optical character readers may also be used to read the information encoded on checks. Such readers incorporate an optical character read head and circuitry for recognition of the optical characters. Optical characters typically conform to a predetermined specification such as ANSI X 3.17.
Credit cards or bank cards contain information encoded on a magnetic stripe on one side of the card. The stripes typically include up to three tracks. Information is encoded on the tracks in accordance with certain standards, such as ANSI X 4.16 and ISO 3554, specifications for magnetic stripe encoding. Track 1 has been developed for use by the air transportation industry, track 2 for the banking industry, and track 3 for the thrift industry. Magnetic stripe readers include a magnetic stripe read head and circuitry for recognition of the encoded information. In operation, the magnetic stripe of the credit or bank card is passed over the read head.
Magnetic stripe readers are used in retail establishments for processing purchases made with a credit card. Typically, these devices are located close to a cash register and include a slot or channel, open at both ends, through which a sales clerk at the point of sale slides or "swipes" the card. Financial institutions often locate magnetic stripe readers at a teller's window. As with the point of sale readers, a banking customer swipes the card through an open-ended slot in the reader to provide identification.
As the use of encoded data in the form of magnetic ink characters and magnetic stripes has proliferated, it has become increasing desirable to have both a MICR reader and a magnetic stripe reader at the same location. A MICR reader and a magnetic stripe reader have been combined in a single unit. However, such prior art devices are generally bulky and take up a lot of area on the counter where they must be placed. The electronic components of the MICR reader must be kept sufficiently far away from the magnetic stripe reader to avoid erasing the magnetic stripe data on a card passing through the magnetic stripe slot. Also, the area around both ends of the device must be kept relatively free of other objects to provide unrestricted access to the slots or channels, particularly for checks, which comprise a paper medium and are more easily bent or torn. Frequently, however, the counter where such readers are used comprises a relatively small area, and clutter and other necessary apparatus is also present, further restricting the available space. Thus, there exists a need for a compact MICR and magnetic stripe reader which takes up relatively little space, while maintaining ease and efficiency of operation.